[Birdtalk] Leidy Peak, Uinta Mountains possible Boreal Owls

[Tim Avery]

This weekend (07/25-07/27) Colby Neuman (and his dog Lucy), Samantha Sargent and I headed to the Leidy Peak area in hopes of finally tackling White-tailed Ptarmigan in Utah for Colby, and photographing them for me, as well as some other birding, hiking, and relaxation.  On the way over on Friday afternoon, there was a single American White Pelican on one of the sewage ponds in Duchesne.  We got a late start into the mountains and ended up getting to the parking area above Hacking Lake just after sunset, as it started to rain.  We had planned on doing some owling but it rained late into the night, making that impossible.  Saturday morning as it started to get light, the typical birds of the high Uinta's started to sing and call.  Red Crossbill, Pine Siskin, Pine Grosbeak, Gray Jay, Clark's Nutcracker, Chipping Sparrow and Dark-eyed Junco all added to the mix.  And it shouldn't seem odd given the numbers this year, but a WHITE-WINGED CROSSBILL was singing in the dim morning light in the trees around camp, and throughout the weekend they could be heard singing, calling, and the occasional fly-over was seen for added satisfaction.  

 

We started up the mountain at 7:45am and worked along the east slope.  Colby and Lucy made their way up to the NE side and onto the top while Sam and I worked along the east slope.  Several BLACK ROSY-FINCH flew over and one cooperative bird sat on a rock just long enough for me to shoot a few shots. Colby and Lucy made their way back down onto the north side, and we criss-crossed the entire north slope as well as the meadows at the base down to the tree-line without any luck on ptarmigan.  The only sign that there may be any in the area this year was a single flight feather (possibly a long covert or tertial) that I picked up on the NE side near a snow drift.  Colby and Lucy continued along the north and towards the NW and west side while Sam and I scoured out into the meadows and tree-line back on the NE and east side.  We made our way to the SE slope and I climbed up the ridge to the remaining snow pack to see if I could get any rosy-finches to come in for shots in good light.  No luck there.  However, we did see a lone NORTHERN HARRIER soaring several hundred feet above the 12,000'+ peak, somewhat odd, and bringing back memories of the odd Prairie Falcon I observed last year on the mountain.

 

Around 11:00am, Sam and I ventured back through the tree-line towards camp, where many White-crowned and Chipping Sparrow were still busy singing away.  Back at our camp, I heard an AMERICAN THREE-TOED WOODPECKER drumming, and tracked the male bird down for a photo.  A short time later a female RUFOUS HUMMINGBIRD came buzzing through and off into the distance.  Colby got back just after noon, and we ate some lunch.  While lounging in the shade commiserating about the lack of Ptarmigan, Colby spotted a PEREGRINE FALCON circling above us. GRAY JAY came and went, stealing dog food, and a few bits of cereal I tossed for pictures.  After lunch we took off down the mountain and checked out a few back roads, looking for potential owling spots.  However, this soon grew old and we headed back to camp, just in time for the rain to start coming down.  We spent most of the rest of the day, in tents, under trees, and in the back of the car, watching it drizzle, and occasionally pour.  A male RUFOUS HUMMINGBIRD was the next visitor through camp during one of the breaks.

 

By about 7:00pm the rain halted and we ate dinner, while fighting off mosquito's near a fire.  We waited for it to get dark, and headed several miles down the road to start playing for owls.  We made 8 stops playing for Boreal Owl, the first 4 were all in sketchy habitat, and running water nearby prevented hearing much.  On the 5th stop, about 1/3 mile below Hacking Lake after playing the song for 45 seconds a small owl flew low over me, and Colby and I both heard the wing beats.  WE frantically searched in the trees for the bird, and even thought we heard it scratch a couple times.  I thought I heard a small cough call once, but wasn't sure.  We made our 6th stop just at the entrance to Hacking Lake, and after playing the song just 2 times, we heard wing beats flyover and through the trees.  Twice we caught glimpses of a bird flying through the woods, and into trees, but were never able to get clear, or close looks at the bird.  Finally, our 8th stop was at the Highline Trail stop along the road just above Hacking Lake.  We played here for about 30 seconds before I had another bird buzz me, the wing beats, loud enough that I jumped in the air, freaking out at how close the bird had came.  I think Colby was probably laughing as I was pretty shaken and began scanning all the surrounding trees.  I caught some movement high in a spruce/fir but never got a clear glimpse of what the bird was.

 

Although, we never got good looks at a bird, and had no feedback in terms of song or call, the actions of the tiny birds were consistent with that of BOREAL OWL in surrounding states at this time of year.  As with other possible interactions with this species in Utah, this was somewhat a frustrating experience, as it is truly impossible to say that the birds weren't saw-whet or pygmy owls.  However, I would like to think that based off the birds flying over when a Boreal song is played, in what is seemingly perfect habitat, it would make sense that the birds were indeed Boreal Owls.

 

This morning (07/27) we didn't exit the tents till almost 8am.  Colby and Lucy took off up the mountain to try for Ptarmigan again, while Sam and I packed up camp.  Colby did not have any better luck today, but did find another white flight feather.  On the way down the mountain, we saw plenty of Mountain Bluebird, and American Robin.  At one stop on the sage flats where there was  a spring we stopped to check out a large willow patch.  Only bluebirds and 3 Brewer's Sparrows appeared upon pishing.  As we passed through the sage into the juniper near the start of the dirt road an empid chased a bluebird out over the car.  It was probably a Gray or Dusky based off the location, but it didn't want to cooperate and land close enough to the car to look at.

 

Besides the birds, there were lots and lots of butterflies.  We ran into a guy from Florida who was collecting in the meadows around the peak.  He had a nice variety of catches!  

 

I will post a bunch of pictures tomorrow!

 

Good Birding

 

Tim
Salt Lake City, Utah
tanager at timaverybirding.com
http://www.timaverybirding.com

 
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